Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary Speaker Review

[moonthink]

Speaker is being sold still. There are two in stock being sold by Music Direct on Amazon.

And... was still being sold on the Wharfedale website less than a month ago. Out of stock now, but still listed.

 

[thewas]

Linton is a 3-way so doesn't have the underlying directivity error that this 2-way speaker does with no waveguide or midrange driver.

That wasn't my point but that the grille improved the diirectivity even on the Linton. By the way the Linton uses a 5 inch mid driver so from diirectivity error point of view it theoretically wouldn't be better or different to the Denton you tested which also has a 5 inch midwoofer.

 

[thewas]

Hardly anyone uses SONOS speakers as stereo. So don't go telling me I should double the test time to measure it that way.

The problem was you probably didn't even know about this when testing it due to the lack of some previous product research. Also for both completeness and mono testing this mono configuration would have been sensible to be measured and listened too. I also wouldn't put any bets on how many use them in more than a single unit configuration as I have seen either both in my neighbourhood and in the web.

 

[amirm]

That wasn't my point but that the grille improved the diirectivity even on the Linton. By the way the Linton uses a 5 inch mid driver so from diirectivity error point of view it theoretically wouldn't be better or different to the Denton you tested which also has a 5 inch midwoofer.

I know what your point was and that is how I responded. The directivity error here is due to gap in sizes of the drivers. Grill isn't going to fix that. With Linton, the bit of filtering the grill provided may have changed the response of the midrange enough to make a difference. That doesn't apply here or people would use grills to deal with directivity.

 

[Audio Monkey]

I owned these speakers for about a week and immediately sold them. They sounded dull, hollow, and lifeless. I couldn't understand all the great reviews.

 

[amirm]

The problem was you probably didn't even know about this when testing it due to the lack of some previous product research. Also for both completeness and mono testing this mono configuration would have been sensible to be measured and listened too. I also wouldn't put any bets on how many use them in more than a single unit configuration as I have seen either both in my neighbourhood and in the web.

What are you talking about? I have known SONOS since the company started as we worked with them to deploy our compression technology in their products. At Madrona, we sell a ton of them. This is why I said with confidence that your point about stereo deployment is for birds. No way is that a common useful scenario for any lifestyle product. They are almost always deployed as a single speaker. And with the benefit of side firing tweeters to give larger impression than that of a single speaker. So i focused my testing in this regard.

If you mean the Denton, it is not part of my job to go and "research" how a 2-way speaker is supposed to be used. I actually searched and watched video reviews and no one said a thing about the grill being mandatory. My testing was in line with my own standards and the owner saying he likes to see it tested without the grill.

The problem is that some of you want every review to be a science project where you spend my time and resources for heaven knows what reason. My job is not that. I do sufficient testing to see what the product is about. I am about 90%. You want the last 10%, go hire a lab or someone who has nothing else to do to do that testing for you.

Really, I expect more from you than this line and tone of commentary.

 

[WILL]

Yes, I'm using this Denton 80th speakers in my office as decoration.
Not good for critical listening but playing bgm it's okay.

 

[dananski]

The M16 costs $900 so more money than Wharfedale but still, if you are going to buy a speaker, get a proper one.

In some UK shops, the M16 is currently on sale at £599, which is only £250 more than these 80th Anniversary Dentons. It's still a leap, just a lot less than $900.

 

[ROOSKIE]

I have zero experience with any Wharfedale speaker, but I've seen this phrase in lots of places and want to know what the heck does "fun to listen to" mean anyway? I've heard loads of speakers in my day and have never thought this about any of them. "Sounds good", "Sounds bad", well sure. Lots of music is "fun to listen to", but speakers???? Just don't get it...

I don't know exactly what @moonthink experienced. After using about 4 dozen+ speakers in testing (and plenty of PEQ play) some speakers did just resonate with me and were more 'fun'. To me that implies more toe tapping and feeling the music vs analytical. Ultimately I surely would not be able to say exactly why in terms that 'classically objective' folks will likely think highly of.
It was pretty consistent which speakers I experienced this effect with. Be cool to really product conceal this one day.

Beyond that, I did not find this particular speaker that much fun myself so what now? Subjectivity is a bear.

I take it neither the owner nor Amir have seen the measurements of the Linton? Yes there is still a directivity error but the response becomes significantly more linear.

Big shame about this oversight and likely an unfair assessment of this speaker

Yah, obviously a severe edge will create severe edge diffraction.
I prefer not to use grills myself as I like to see the drivers so for myself I'd want the grill off in testing.
That said, I could see many if not most buyers of this design using the grills.

The real wood veneer is valuable. The rest of the design is of a $200-300usd mass market speaker. Ignoring the veneer, just don't think these are great speakers for $600usd.

Fwiiw. I bought the pair I had 6 years or so ago. They sold for $399 a pair then and were at that price for years. I have never, ever seen them for the $1000 retail in the US. Always $399 or $499 or $599. Never more. $1kusd is a fake price.

Wharfedale own Diamond 220 &12.1 perform slightly better but cost much less currently at $249 & $449.
I've seen opened box 220's for about $150usd a pair.

 

[Ninjastar]

I owned these speakers about 4-5 years back. Sound was just okay, but I really enjoyed the way they look. To this day one of the best looking stand mount speakers I've owned.

I didn't think they sounded bright per se, but they sounded thin and I never experienced the beautiful warm sound I expected from reading the subjective reviews. At the time I was kind of new to the hobby so I chalked it up to my source and amp not being up to snuff.

I also owned the Wharfedale Diamond 225 at the same time and those sounded closer to what I expected the Denton 80th to sound like. Very warm and non-fatiguing to listen to. If someone is looking for that type of sound, I would recommend the Diamond 225 if you can find them. Not as beautiful to look at though (vinyl wrap vs. veneer).

 

[Streamc]

It's pity they degrade the trust earned from Linton. I chose revel because of trust..

Aura 2 is more trusted.

 

[Endibol]

I take it neither the owner nor Amir have seen the measurements of the Linton? Yes there is still a directivity error but the response becomes significantly more linear.
Grille off:
View attachment 346243
Grille on:
View attachment 346242

Big shame about this oversight and likely an unfair assessment of this speaker

What do you mean exactly?

 

[thewas]

I know what your point was and that is how I responded. The directivity error here is due to gap in sizes of the drivers. Grill isn't going to fix that. With Linton, the bit of filtering the grill provided may have changed the response of the midrange enough to make a difference. That doesn't apply here or people would use grills to deal with directivity.

Not really, again, the sizes of the mid and tweeter of the Linton is same to the size of the midwoofer and tweeter of the Denton, so the theoretical directivity mismatch if they used the same crossover frequency to the tweeter would be very similar (the baffle size has of course also some impact so there would be no reason why the one grille has impact on the directivity and the other doesn't. Obviously in this case he diirectivity of the 80 has due to probably different crossover a worse directivity mismatch without the grille than the Linton but to say that its grille would have no impact withour measuring it while the grille of the Linton clearly has a positive one isn't correct

 

[Miniyouuuu]

I heard the Dentons 80th at a store. I liked them. Less detail than more modern speakers but more character and personality.
After that I bought the Dentons 85th. Sounded similar to my ears. I couldn’t hear both at same place so I wouldn’t dare to set differences.

After 3 months I returned the Dentons and bought the Lintons. Clearly more bass, almost fullrange speaker, more rounded, but almost double the prize.

For 400$ Denton 80th is a nice vintage speaker with obvious drawbacks. Denton 85th is a bit more expensive. Asume its 6,5” speaker will be better below 100hz. And doubling the prize you ger the 3 way Lintons which give you better experience.

Alternatives with better measurements to denton 80th at 400$?

 

[Philipp]

Alternatives with better measurements to denton 80th at 400$?

Depends on distribution in your area, but here in Europe, taking sales-prices into account:
Elac DBR-62
Wharfedale Diamond 220, 12.1
Polk R200
…
not to mention active speaker options.

And hey, I only mentioned quickly some speakers where I have seen data. I bet hunderts of speakers beat the Dentons 80 measuring-wise at that pricepoint, because it is not that hard.

 

[simbloke]

If the speaker had measured well would people still be asking for it to done again with the grill on?

Even if it were an older model it establishes a pattern which you may choose to take note of when considering an untested speaker. Would you choose Wharfedale over Revel?

When I was a kid their factory was about 3 miles up the road. My dad had Linton XP2s at the time. Doesn't make me want to defend a poor product.

 

[DanielT]

It was an audiophile marketing practice that I began seeing about 30 years ago. The internal crossover cannot be defeated. The advantage compared to typical single binding post pairs was that different wattage amplifiers having the same gain factor could be associated with the different driver groups, thus if the woofer/midwoofer’s amplifier clipped it would not subject the tweeter to full scale harmonic distortion.

Well, but in that case use two amps and turn down the gain a little on the one that powers up the tweeter plus have the grill on and it shouldn't look so bad. Not optimal, but it should be better.

 

[fcracer]

Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary Speaker Measurements
As usual, we start with our suite of frequency response measurements:
View attachment 346151

Amir, thanks for the measurements of this speaker. Based on the excellent measurements of the Linton and my experience with the Diamond series, I expected better from Wharfedale. However. I must admit that I bought these primarily for their looks and for that, they serve their purpose very well.

For additional context, this is how they measure in-room at MLP with the grills on using REW's RTA method; it seems to closely match the predicted in-room measurements above.

And this is how they look in the bedroom (again, I primarily purchased them due to their looks and vintage style). I think they look the part in my bedroom alongside the NAD 33050LE.

 

[DanielT]

Amir, thanks for the measurements of this speaker. Based on the excellent measurements of the Linton and my experience with the Diamond series, I expected better from Wharfedale. However. I must admit that I bought these primarily for their looks and for that, they serve their purpose very well.

For additional context, this is how they measure in-room at MLP with the grills on using REW's RTA method; it seems to closely match the predicted in-room measurements above.
View attachment 346412

And this is how they look in the bedroom (again, I primarily purchased them due to their looks and vintage style). I think they look the part in my bedroom alongside the NAD 33050LE.

View attachment 346413View attachment 346414

It looks nice! But, and don't take offense now, don't the NAD 33050 LE (and you too) "deserve" a slightly better speaker? Maybe the newer Denton 85th? Presumably, note I'm only guessing now, they are a better Denton model. Maybe not such a big step up in performance? , but still.

Edit:
Manufacturers should have a niche there. Stylish retro-looking bookshelf speakers that ALSO measure well. Or not. Maybe it's only a small part of the market that would demand that combination?

 

[fcracer]

It looks nice! But, and don't take offense now, don't the NAD 33050 LE (and you too) "deserve" a slightly better speaker? Maybe the newer Denton 85th? Presumably, note I'm only guessing now, they are a better Denton model. Maybe not such a big step up in performance? , but still.

I haven't looked into the Denton 85 yet, but when critical listening is on the agenda, I have Revel and Monitor Audio setups in other rooms. To be frank, in the bedroom, the Denton 80 and 3050LE are way overkill. I would be just as happy using a Marshall Acton III. It would be more convenient too...